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If malls continue to shut down and decay over the next twenty years, someone should turn them into retirement communities for GenX and Millennials.

Imagine apartments built into what used to be department stores, (Oh, you’re JC Penny 203? I’m at Sears 106). Get those old arcades up and running. Set up meal stations at the food court. Once people actually live there, stores will start to move back in.

If I’m unable to finish my life in my own home, that doesn’t sound like a terrible option.

thezeesystem ,

As a millennial I can tell you that most millennials I know wouldn’t want this but instead make it a place for none corporation and community events and such. A public place where your not forced to buy things where can just exist with others even if you have zero money and accessible to all genders and disabilities and races.

And yes retrofit part of it for people who need to get back on there feet, and homeless people.

If we could retrofit them into homeless shelters we could but it would require rebuilding mostly everything as malls are designed for stores not housing people (for instance the bathrooms are not private and not easily accessible if you live somewhere in it)

spirinolas ,

In a city in my country there was an old mall that was slowly taken over by bands who used the spaces as rehearsal rooms. It gained a huge following including some local big bands and concerts. They all paid rent too. Unfortunately, early this year, they were evicted by the owner and City Hall, out of nowhere and are on its way to become airbnb’s for tourists…

Nothing new…

____ ,

Elsewhere, someone suggested that it would be necessary to take the rebuild down to the dirt to handle plumbing and the like for individual units, but I’m not sure I agree.

Generally there is significant excess ceiling height in these commercial spaces, no reason the floor couldn’t be raised throughout the space to accommodate plumbing and the like in a way that’s easily accessible for future maintenance. You still end up with 8’ ceilings (or probably rather more) throughout.

Over the years, I’ve watched a number of retail chains and malls die, sometimes suddenly and sometimes slowly. It’s continuously seemed like a huge waste to me, when conversion to residential space would be relatively easy, relatively affordable, could be funded by local gov or nonprofit, and would make a significant difference in net housing costs in a given area.

When ‘traditional’ residential developers are competing with that, and with the ability to slap down standard-sized (AKA easy) risers/walls/etc. within commercial spaces of defined sizes, a further reduction in local housing costs is likely.

Got_Bent ,

I know it’s hard to imagine since you’ve pretty much got to pay to exist anywhere today, but malls were a place to just exist. I spent hours and hours wandering around the mall in the eighties without any money.

Expanding on the thought, it was perfectly ok to be, get this, a TEENAGER existing without any money in a mall!

paraphrand ,

Yesss, give us community spaces that are not designed around maximizing profits.

Kecessa ,

In some places they’re already doing it to revitalize the majority of the mall, convert a section and suddenly you’ve got people around 24/7 that want services.

Melatonin ,

It’ll be just like “Dawn of the Dead”

GeekFTW ,

I’m down and claiming the candy store in 113!

Rhynoplaz OP ,

Instead of puzzles and bingo night, we’re having GoldenEye tournaments and D&D night!

blackluster117 ,
@blackluster117@possumpat.io avatar

No Oddjob!

Rhynoplaz OP ,

That’s just assumed. Sign me up for the Pistols: License to Kill league.

Carrolade ,

I’ll take a Payless Shoes. Usually at one of the ends, sort of tucked away. Good bit of space, and quick access to the parking lot.

Oh yeah, like 90% of that parking lot can get repurposed into a park. Throw a bus stop in there.

aubeynarf ,

you have to go all the way down below the dirt to prep a site for residential units. With a toilet, shower, and sink per unit, the density of sewer and water plumbing is much higher than commercial. Fire codes also demand egress points (a.k.a. windows) for every bedroom - hard to do Inside a big box retail space.

j4k3 ,
@j4k3@lemmy.world avatar

Also the weight for housing is much higher than the structure is designed for with large open space retail. If the thing didn’t collapse, it would probably sink into the ground enough to cause problems.

Now, if one could find a way to replace the department store footprints with housing, and have the mall corridor administered by a municipal authority without some criminal venture capital thief, something like this could be a great way to create practical compact and walkable living spaces. We need stuff like this, but no one in real estate can act in good faith with long term sustainability. Quarterly return vampires are too deep into their suicide run to handle sustainable life goals, even if the doors fall off mid flight.

idiomaddict ,

Is a mall on Black Friday ( in the mall heyday) really lighter than a residence of the same footprint? Or is the average weight over time more important than a dozen hours every once in a while?

j4k3 ,
@j4k3@lemmy.world avatar

The more open a floor plan appears, where there are not large support columns, the lower the weight bearing capacity will be in general.

With something like modern skyscrapers that appear to have open floor plans, there is a massive structure somewhere within the design. The structure is usually in the center built around the elevators and stairs, although there are other methods too. This structure is engineered for the specific loads of each floor and the total structure, along with various environmental factors such as weather. Like all structures, this starts with a foundation that is large enough for the designed load with a small margin of safety added. The cost of the foundation is directly related to the weight bearing capacity. No one is building structures with substantial extra unused capacity. Likewise, people like the aesthetics of open indoor spaces. This involves designing a structure with the minimal amount of load bearing capacity so that it does not need support columns throughout for the roof and upper floors. This particular aesthetic constraint means that the total load bearing capacity of department stores is very close to what you see in a typical store. If you start adding a bunch of walls and furniture to subdivide this space, there us absolutely no chance that the structure could handle the load. Even if you would like to add support columns, the foundation is engineered for the load. You can’t reinforce something like this in a cost effective way. The size and depth of the pad, rebar density and structure all must be substantially different. You’re likely to need piles or other features that tie in the structure to deeper bedrock elements of the underlying earth.

idiomaddict ,

I guess I’m picturing a mall with lots of support beams in the stores themselves, but not many in the hallways. I wonder if my local mall growing up was originally built for a different purpose. I can’t really picture any other malls, but I’ll keep an eye out when I visit a different one.

SendMePhotos ,

Bet you’re real fun on renovation shows…

idiomaddict ,

…I want someone like them working on every single renovation

lemmefixdat4u ,

How do earth-sheltered homes comply? I’ve seen a few, and they have no windows in most of the rooms, including bedrooms. And there’s a few who’ve taken to living in caves, old mines, and decommissioned missile silos. There must be an exception to this code.

solsangraal ,

when internet still basically consisted of angelfire and geocities (yes, even before myspace), we used to go to the mall and pester the goth kids smoking cigarettes by the mall entrances who were there because they also had nothing else to do

ZeffSyde ,

Whatever.

Go to Abercrombie and buy another polo shirt, conformist. /S

I_Fart_Glitter ,

As is often mentioned, the plumbing situation makes this somewhat untenable.

But, as the world warms and outdoor recreation becomes impossible, I think they could be repurposed into indoor recreation centers, not that different from a regular mall, just less focused on shopping and more on fun and exercise.

Rhynoplaz OP ,

Pssh! That’ll NEVER sell!

owenfromcanada ,
@owenfromcanada@lemmy.world avatar

But what if it were a subscription service? And we can add AI for no reason!

tunetardis , (edited )

As a GenX, I would prefer seeing them made into some sort of public space? We are losing a lot of that, at least where I live. Indoor space in particular.

SendMePhotos ,

Can you provide an example since in not fully understanding what you’re after?

czech ,

A library.

4am ,

Yeah but one for talking

I_Fart_Glitter ,

I commented below with a similar idea. Like a public indoor park, for when Outside™ is no longer an option for recreation due to climate issues. They are big enough to accommodate large playgrounds, both child and adult style, running tracks, swimming pools, sports fields/courts. Keep the food court, sure, throw in a library, etc.

If we ever get a house and senate progressive enough to shave like 0.000000001% of the military budget we could put one in every abandoned mall and have funds left over.

Yawweee877h444 ,

Knock these things down and plant trees and stuff.

While we’re at it knock all the corporate 9to5 office work buildings where all the employees can work from home and plant trees and stuff there too.

Trees and ponds and natural parks and shit, hiking trails…etc.

Guadin ,
@Guadin@k.fe.derate.me avatar

This isn't a too shabby of an idea. It probably won't be used but a mix of stores and homes in one building sounds great.

dan1101 ,

That would be a cool place to live to me.

Rhaedas ,

The idea of apartments centered around a grocery plaza has been a thing for a while. It's almost an answer, except it still requires transportation to everything else. Plus the stores tend to be higher prices to support the cost of property and because they can.

Kaboom ,

Add a metro station, a large parking garage, should work

MataVatnik ,
@MataVatnik@lemmy.world avatar

No God please no. I hated malls as a child, this would be some sort of fucked up psychological torture.

Rhynoplaz OP ,

That’s ok, you can still go to Shady Pines.

elbucho ,
@elbucho@lemmy.world avatar

God, imagine living in a retirement community that has a Hot Topic.

protist ,

They’ve turned one mall in my city into a community college and office space, and the other is going strong and attracting new tenants

zqwzzle ,

Wait you guys are retiring?

pelletbucket ,

they’ve already started turning them into rental units because that’s apparently the entire American economy now

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